Techniques for Substituting Information into Orders Prior to Persistence in Storage of a Data Record System

Orders may be generated and persisted in storage of a data record system. One example of a data record system is an electronic health record (EHR) system. An EHR may generate medication orders for patients and persist them in storage of the EHR. For example, a physician may use a graphical user interface (GUI) provided by the EHR to submit information specifying parameters of a medication order (e.g., one or more medications to be included in the medication order, instructions for administering the medication(s) to a patient, a time interval at which to administer the medication(s) to the patient, and/or other information). The EHR system may generate an order using the information received through the GUI and persist the order in storage of the EHR system (e.g., by storing the medication order in a storage location associated with a particular patient's health record). The medication(s) indicated by the order may then be administered to a patient based on the information specified in the order.

Another example of a data record system is a transaction database used by an e-commerce software application. The software application may generate orders (e.g., resulting from transactions in the software application) and persist the orders in storage of the data record system. The software application may generate an order using information obtained through a GUI provided by the software application (e.g., payment information, customer identification information, specification of item(s) to include in the order) and persist the order in the transaction database (e.g., by storing the order in a queue of orders to be fulfilled). The order may then be fulfilled (e.g., by packaging and shipping item(s) specified by the order).

Described herein are techniques for automatically substituting information into orders generated by a data record system prior to persisting the orders in storage of the data record system. The techniques store substitution groups of data entities that store data associated with respective substances (e.g., medications). When order templates (e.g., medication regiments) are generated by the data record system, the techniques automatically modify the order templates (e.g., by substituting data entities in the orders) based on data entity substitution configurations of the substitution groups. Information from the modified order templates is input into orders before the orders are persisted in storage of the data record system.

Some embodiments provide a data processing system for automatically substituting information into orders prior to persisting the orders in storage of a data record system, the data record system storing a plurality of data entities storing data associated with a plurality of substances. The data processing system comprises: a computer hardware processor; and memory storing: data indicating a plurality of substitution groups each assigned a subset of the plurality of data entities and including a data entity substitution configuration, the substitution groups including a first substitution group assigned a first subset of data entities sharing a common active ingredient of respective substances; and instructions that, when executed by the computer hardware processor, cause the computer hardware processor to: obtain a first order template generated by the data record system, the first order template indicating a first data entity of the first subset of data entities assigned to the first substitution group; access a first data entity substitution configuration of the first substitution group, the first data entity substitution configuration indicating an instruction to substitute a second data entity of the first subset of data entities in place of the first data entity; modify the first order template based on the first data entity substitution configuration at least in part by replacing the first data entity indicated by the first order with the second data entity to obtain a modified first order template; and persist, in the storage of the data record system, a first order storing information from the second data entity indicated by the modified first order template.

Some embodiments provide a method for automatically substituting information into orders prior to persisting the orders in storage of a data record system, the data record system storing a plurality of data entities storing data associated with a plurality of substances. The method comprises using a computer hardware processor to perform: obtaining a first order template generated by the data record system, the first order template indicating a first data entity of a first subset of data entities assigned to a first substitution group of a plurality of substitution groups, the first subset of data entities sharing a common active ingredient of respective substances; accessing a first data entity substitution configuration of the first substitution group, the first data entity substitution configuration indicating an instruction to substitute a second data entity of the first subset of data entities in place of the first data entity; modifying the first order template based on the first data entity substitution configuration at least in part by replacing the first data entity indicated by the first order with the second data entity to obtain a modified first order template; and persisting, in the storage of the data record system, a first order storing information from the second data entity indicated by the modified first order template.

Some embodiments provide a computer-readable medium storing instructions that, when executed by a computer hardware processor, cause the computer hardware processor to perform a method for automatically substituting information into orders prior to persisting the orders in storage of a data record system, the data record system storing a plurality of data entities storing data associated with a plurality of substances. The method comprises: obtaining a first order template generated by the data record system, the first order template indicating a first data entity of a first subset of data entities assigned to a first substitution group of a plurality of substitution groups, the first subset of data entities sharing a common active ingredient of respective substances; accessing a first data entity substitution configuration of the first substitution group, the first data entity substitution configuration indicating an instruction to substitute a second data entity of the first subset of data entities in place of the first data entity;

modifying the first order template based on the first data entity substitution configuration at least in part by replacing the first data entity indicated by the first order with the second data entity to obtain an updated first order template; and persisting, in the storage of the data record system, a first order storing information from the second data entity indicated by the modified first order template.

The foregoing summary is non-limiting.

The inventors have developed techniques for automatically substituting information into orders generated by a data record system prior to persisting the orders in storage of the data record system. The substitutions may automatically modify undesired information in the orders and/or apply custom preferences to the orders during the generation of the data records (as opposed to modifying orders after they have persisted in storage). For example, some embodiments may automatically substitute medication(s) into a medication order generated in an EHR system prior to the persistence of the medication order in storage of the EHR system for administration of medication(s) to patient(s).

An EHR system is used by medical institutions (e.g., hospitals, clinics, medical practices, labs, and/or other medical institutions) to store data records for patients (e.g., digital versions of a patient's health history). In addition to storing data records, the EHR system may provide various types of functionalities that facilitate the operations of a medical institution such as generating orders for patients indicating one or more substances (e.g., medication(s)) to be administered to patients and instructions for doing so. For example, the EHR system may provide a GUI through which a care provider (e.g., a physician) can specify information for an order (e.g., one or more medications to be administered to a patient and instructions for administering the medication(s)). An order generated by the EHR system may be persisted in storage of the EHR (e.g., in a digital chart of the patient stored by the EHR). A substance (e.g., a medication) indicated by the order may then be administered to the patient according to instructions specified by the order.

1 FIG. 1 FIG. 100 100 102 112 102 112 140 102 140 112 102 140 102 112 shows an example of a data record system(e.g., an EHR system) generating and persisting orders. As shown in, the data record systemincludes an order template generation moduleconfigured to generate order templates. An order template may indicate information that is used to generate one or more orders. For example, in an EHR system, an order template may indicate a regimen of one or more medications for a subject (e.g., a patient). The order template generation modulemay be configured to generate order templatesbased on input from user devices. The order template generation modulemay be configured to obtain information from the user devicesfor orders to be generated and store the information in the order templates. For example, for an EHR system, the order template generation modulemay obtain information about medication orders to be generated through graphical user interfaces (GUIs) provided on the user devices. Care providers may enter information through the GUIs. The order template generation modulemay store the information obtained through the GUIs in data fields of the order templates.

100 104 114 110 100 104 114 112 110 114 104 The data record systemfurther includes an order persistence moduleconfigured to persist ordersin data storage(e.g., a database) of the data record system. The order persistence modulemay be configured to persist the ordersby: (1) writing information from the order templatesinto respective data records, and (2) persisting the data records in the data storageas ordersin the data storage. For example, for an EHR system, the order persistence modulemay store information from order templates in medication orders and persist the medication orders in the appropriate patient charts.

110 102 112 110 The inventors have recognized a problem in the operation of data record systems such as EHR systems. Orders generated and persisted in the data storagemay often include undesired information. The undesired information may have been included in the orders based on user input obtained by the order template generation moduleand stored in order templatesfrom which orders are generated and subsequently persisted in data storage. In the context of an EHR system, one challenge that leads to orders (e.g. medication orders) with undesired information is that there are multiple medications that share a common active ingredient, and which can be prescribed to a patient in a medication order. When creating a new order in an EHR system, a user (e.g., a physician) may specify one of multiple medications that share a common active ingredient. However, there are various reasons that the medication specified by the user may not be desired. For example, the cost of the specified medication may not be affordable to a patient, the specified medication may not be available (e.g., out of stock), and/or the health insurance of the patient may not cover the specified medication. As another example, a medical institution may have a preference or requirement to use a particular medication over another medication (e.g., due to availability, costs, and/or other factors).

1 FIG. 112 102 112 140 102 112 104 114 110 100 As illustrated in, the order templatesgenerated by the order template generation moduleinclude undesired information (indicated by the “x” marks in the order templates) (e.g., due to input by users of the devices). The order template generation moduletransmits the order templateswith undesired information (e.g., undesired medications) to the order persistence modulewhich in turn persists ordersinto the storage. The above-described problem leads to various issues in an EHR system because medication orders persisted in patient charts may lead to undesired medications being administered to patients, delays in medication being administered to patients, and even failure to administer medication to patients. Moreover, the orders including undesired information require additional processing by the data record systemto update the orders.

Conventional EHR systems address the above-described problem by updating a persisted order when issue with information in the order (e.g., an undesired medication is specified in the order) is recognized. However, this requires significant amounts of computation to update orders. When orders (e.g., medication orders that indicate undesired medications) need to be updated, the EHR system is required to perform significant additional data processing. The EHR system needs to access a persisted order from storage, obtain information for updating the order from one or more user devices (e.g., through GUI(s)), delete prior data stored in the order, write additional data into the order, and persist the updated order in storage. Moreover, an EHR system is completely reliant on a user recognizing an issue with information in an order to resolve the issue (e.g., by updating the order to modify information therein). Thus, the EHR system may continue to store several medical orders that specify undesired medications without any capability to resolve the issues.

To address the above-described problem in data record systems (e.g., EHR systems), the inventors have developed systems and techniques that automatically configures orders at the point of order generation. The techniques mitigate the risk of undesired information being introduced into an order during generation of the order and prior to persistence of the order in storage. During generation of an order, the system: (1) recognizes that a particular substance (e.g., a medication) indicated by an order template needs to be substituted, (2) automatically modifies the order template by substituting the substance indicated by the order template, and (3) persists an order in data storage using the modified order template. For example, in the context of an EHR system, the system recognizes that a medication specified in an order template needs to be substituted with another medication (e.g., due to supply of the medication, preference of a medical entity, cost of the medication, insurance coverage of the medication, and/or another reason) and substitutes the medication into the order prior to the medication order being persisted in data storage of the EHR system (e.g., in a digital patient chart).

The systems and techniques described herein improve technology of data record systems (e.g., EHR systems) by reducing the database processing (e.g., reading orders from storage, deleting data from the orders, and/or writing data to the orders) that needs to be performed to update previously persisted orders (e.g., when a care provider specifies a medication for a medication order). Moreover, by performing substitutions in real-time at the point orders are generated, the systems and techniques reduce the amount of undesired information in orders persisted in data storage. Accordingly, embodiments described herein improve technology of data record systems such as EHR systems.

Some embodiments provide a data processing system for automatically substituting data entities into orders generated by a data record system prior to persisting the orders in storage of the data processing system. The data record system may store data entities that each store information associated with a respective substance (e.g., a medication) that may be indicated in an order generated by the data record system. The information may include identification of the substance, an active ingredient in the substance, a delivery route for the substance to be administered to a patient, and/or other information about the substance. The system may be configured to store data indicating substitution groups that are each assigned a subset of the data entities and include a data entity substitution configuration. The substitution groups may include a substitution group assigned a subset of the data entities that share a common active ingredient of associated substances. The system may be configured to obtain an order template generated by a data record system (e.g., an EHR system) that indicates a first data entity (e.g., associated with a first medication). The first data entity may be assigned to the substitution group. The system may be configured to access a data entity substitution configuration associated with the substitution group that indicates an instruction to substitute a second data entity (e.g., associated with a second medication) from the substitution group in place of the first data entity. The system may be configured to modify the order template based on the data entity substitution configuration by replacing the first data entity indicated by the order template with the second data entity. The system may be configured to persist an order storing information from the modified order template (e.g., from the second data entity indicated by the modified order template) in memory of the data record system.

In some embodiments, the system may be configured to generate the first substitution group by performing: (1) access a reference data entity storing information about a reference substance (e.g., a reference medication), the reference data entity indicating a particular active ingredient of the reference substance, (2) identify, from among the plurality of data entities, data entities based on the reference data entity, the identifying comprising identifying data entities that indicate the particular active ingredient of the reference substance (e.g., by identifying data entities that are mapped to the reference data entity), and (3) assign at least some of the identified data entities to the substitution group (e.g., by receiving user input selecting at the at least some data entities through a GUI). In some embodiments, the reference data entity further indicates a particular delivery route of the reference substance and identifying, from among the plurality of data entities, the data entities based on the reference data entity further comprises identifying data entities that indicate the particular delivery route of the reference substance in addition to the particular active ingredient of the reference substance.

In some embodiments, the data entity substitution configuration further comprises a delivery override, the delivery override indicating that a delivery method corresponding to the first data entity is to be overridden by a second delivery method when the second data entity is substituted into an order template. In some embodiments, the system may be configured to modify the order template based on the data entity configuration associated with the substitution group at least in part by changing the first delivery method to the second delivery method. In some embodiments, the data entity substitution configuration further includes a data entity override that overrides the instruction to substitute the second data entity in place of the first data entity, wherein the data entity override specifies a particular data entity to use when a target subject (e.g., a patient) in an order template has a particular attribute (e.g., has a particular insurance provider). In some embodiments, the system may be configured to: (1) obtain a second order template generated by the data record system for a first target subject, the second order template indicating the first data entity of the first subset of data entities assigned to the substitution group, (2) access the data entity substitution configuration associated with the substitution group, and (3) modify the second order template based on the first data entity substitution configuration. The system may be configured to modify the second order template at least in part by: (1) determining that the first target subject has the particular attribute specified by the data entity override of the data entity substitution configuration, and (2) when it is determined that the first target subject has the particular attribute specified by the data entity override, replacing the first data entity indicated by the second order template with the particular data entity to obtain a modified second order template. The system may be configured to persist, in the storage of the data record system, a second order storing information from the particular data entity indicated by the modified second order template.

In some embodiments, the substitution groups include a substitution group assigned a subset of the plurality of data entities that store data associated with a set of biosimilar substances (e.g., a set of biosimilar medications), the substitution group may have a data entity substitution configuration. The system may be configured to: (1) obtain a second order template generated by the data record system, the second order template indicating a third data entity of the second subset of data entities assigned to the biosimilar substitution group, (2) access a data entity substitution configuration associated with the biosimilar substitution group, the data entity substitution configuration indicating an instruction to substitute a fourth data entity of the subset of data entities assigned to the biosimilar substitution group in place of the third data entity, (3) modify the second order template based on the data entity substitution configuration at least in part by replacing the third data entity indicated by the second order template with the fourth data entity to obtain a modified second order template, and (4) persist, in the data storage of the data record system, a second order storing information from the fourth data entity indicated by the modified second order template.

In some embodiments, the data entity substitution configuration of the biosimilar substitution group further includes a data entity override that overrides the instruction to substitute the fourth data entity in place of the third data entity, wherein the data entity override specifies a particular data entity to use when a target subject in an order template has a particular attribute.

In some embodiments, the system may be configured to update previously persisted orders stored in data storage of a data record system. The system may be configured to: (1) recognize that a particular substance (e.g., a medication) indicated in an order is to be substituted, (2) automatically modifies the order by substituting the substance indicated by the order, and (3) persists the updated order in data storage. The system may be configured to access a substitution group that the particular substance belongs to (e.g., that a data entity associated with the particular substance is assigned to) and modify the order using a data entity substitution configuration of the substitution group. For example, the system may determine, based on the data entity substitution configuration, that the particular substance is to be substituted with another substance. The system may access information about the other substance from a data entity associated with the other substance and update the order using the information (e.g., by replacing information in the order with the information from the data entity associated with the other substance).

Following below are more detailed descriptions of various concepts related to, and embodiments of, substituting correct information into newly generated orders prior to the orders being persisted in storage of a data record system. It should be appreciated that various aspects described herein may be implemented in any of numerous ways. Examples of specific implementations are provided herein for illustrative purposes only. In addition, the various aspects described in the embodiments below may be used alone or in any combination and are not limited to the combinations explicitly described herein. Some example embodiments are described herein in the context of a data record system comprising an EHR system for illustrative purposes. However, the embodiments are not restricted to EHR systems. Some embodiments may be implemented in other types of data record systems.

2 FIG. 2 FIG. 200 210 210 206 200 210 206 200 200 210 shows an example data record systemincluding a data processing system, according to some embodiments of the technology described herein. As illustrated inthe data processing systemautomatically applies updates during the generation of orders prior to the persistence of the orders in storageof the data record system. By doing so the data processing systemimproves the accuracy of orders persisted in the storageof the data record system. For example, in implementations in which the data record systemis an EHR system, the data processing systemmay apply updates during the generation of medication orders that automatically substitute medications into orders in place of other medications (e.g., based on a configuration of preferences of a medical institution). This reduces the amount of undesired information in medication orders that need to be resolved by the EHR system (e.g., by modifying medication orders in the data storage).

2 FIG. 2 FIG. 200 202 204 206 210 202 222 206 204 210 222 222 204 224 206 222 222 210 As shown in, the data record systemincludes an order template generation module, an order persistence module, data storage, and the data processing system. The order temperate generation modulegenerates order templatesA from which orders are generated and persisted into data storageby the order persistence module. The data processing systemmodifies the order templatesA to generate updated order templatesB that are then used by the order persistence moduleto persist ordersinto the data storage. As shown in, the order templatesA include data entities (indicated by the “x” marks) that are substituted with other data entities in the order templatesB as a result of the modifications applied by the data processing system.

2 FIG. 206 200 206 206 202 206 206 206 As shown in, the data storageof the data record systemstores data entitiesA. The data entitiesA may store information associated with items that can be specified in an order template (e.g., generated by the order template generation module). Each data entity may store information associated with a particular item. In some embodiments, the items may be substances (e.g., medications) that can be administered to humans (e.g., patients). Each of the data entitiesA may store information associated with a substance. In some embodiments, each of the data entitiesA may store an active ingredient of the substance and a delivery route through which the substance is administered. The data entitiesA may store additional information associated with the substance such as identification information (e.g., a name, ID, class, and/or other identification information), availability of the substance, dosing information (e.g., amount of fluid, dose limits, lifetime of dose, length of dose, and/or other dosing information), administration information (e.g., instructions, link to prescription, and/or other administration information), and/or other information associated with the substance.

206 200 206 204 The data storageof the data records systemstores ordersB (e.g., that have been persisted in memory by the order persistence module). In some embodiments, an order may indicate a substance to be administered to an individual (e.g., a patient). In some embodiments, an order may indicate information for administering the substance to an individual. For example, an order may indicate a medication to be administered to a patient and instructions for administrating the medication to the patient (e.g., route, fluid type, amount, duration, start date, end date, and/or other information). An order may indicate other information such as a date, a diagnosis of the patient (e.g., a type of cancer the patient is diagnosed with and/or a stage of cancer), a location, an identification of a user (e.g., care provider) that created the order, information about the patient (e.g., weight, height, and/or other information) and/or other information.

206 200 206 206 206 206 200 206 206 206 206 206 The data storageof the data record systemmay comprise any suitable storage hardware. For example, the data storagemay include one or more hard drives (e.g., solid state drives (SSDs), hard disk drives (HDDs), and/or other types of hard drives). In some embodiments, the data storagemay comprise a database configured to store the data entitiesA and the ordersB. For example, for embodiments in which the data record systemis an EHR system, the data storagemay comprise a database storing patient medical records. For example, the database may store a medical record of each patient in a patient chart. The ordersB persisted in the data storagemay be stored in association with the patient medical records. For example, the ordersB may be medication orders prescribing a medication regimen for the patients. The ordersB may thus be included in respective patient medical records. In some embodiments, persisting an order (e.g., a medication order) in a patient's medical record may trigger administration of medication(s) to the patient in accordance with the order.

2 FIG. 1 FIG. 202 222 202 200 202 As shown in, the order template generation modulemay be configured to generate order templatesA specifying information from which orders are generated. In some embodiments, the order template generation modulemay be configured to generate an order template by: (1) obtaining information from a user (e.g., through a GUI provided by the data record systemto the user's device as described herein with reference to), and (2) generating the order template using the information from the user. For example, the order template generation modulemay obtain input from a user indicating a substance (e.g., a medication to include in an order (e.g., a medication order), and store the information in an order template. Information obtained from the user may include an indication of a substance to include in the order, administration instructions (e.g., route, fluid type, amount, duration, start date, and/or end date), and/or other information. In some embodiments, information obtained from the user may include other information such as a date of creating the order template, a facility location, a patient diagnosis, billing code(s), and/or an identification of a care provider (e.g., a physician) submitting the information.

202 200 In some embodiments, an order template generated by the order template generation module(e.g., using information obtained from a user) may indicate one or more data entities associated with respective substance(s). For example, the order template may indicate one or more data entities associated with medication(s) that are to be administered to a patient (e.g., specified by user input received through a GUI provided by the data record system). In some embodiments, the order template may further indicate administration instructions for administering each of the substance(s). For example, the order template may indicate a fluid amount, duration, and/or other administration instructions for each substance.

2 FIG. 4 FIG. 2 FIG. 222 222 210 222 210 222 202 210 210 210 230 230 230 210 As shown in, the order templatesA generated by the order template generation moduleA are processed by the data processing systemwhich applies updates to the order templatesA to obtain updated order templates. In some embodiments, the data processing systemmay be configured to update the order templatesA generated by the order template generation moduleby substituting data entities into the orders. The data processing systemmay be configured to substitute data entities into orders by using substitution groups. A substitution group is a group of data entities associated with respective substances that can be substituted in place of each other in an order template. The data processing systemmay be configured to define substitution groups. Example techniques for defining a substitution group are described herein with reference to. For example, the data processing systemmay define a substitution group by: (1) receiving user input indicating a selection of data entities to include in the substitution group, and (2) defining the substitution group that includes the indicated data entities. In the example of, substitution groupsA,B,C have been defined by the data processing system.

In some embodiments, a substitution group may be a group of data entities associated with substances that each share a common active ingredient. Each of the data entities may indicate the common active ingredient shared by the substances. In some embodiments, the group of data entities may further indicate the same delivery route in addition to the common active ingredient. In some embodiments, a substitution group may be a group of data entities associated with a set of biosimilars (i.e., a group of biologic substances that have no clinically meaning differences in safety, purity, or potency).

In some embodiments, a substitution group may be defined by a reference data entity. Other data entities may be assigned to the substitution group based on the reference data entity. For example, the other data entities may indicate active ingredients that are indicated by the reference data entity. As another example, the other data entities may further indicate the same delivery route as the reference data entity. In some embodiments, the substitution group may comprise of data entities that are associated with substances that are biosimilar to a substance associated with a reference data entity. In some embodiments, the substitution groups may be mutually exclusive. Thus, a data entity in one substitution group may not belong to another substitution group. In some embodiments, the substitution groups may not be mutually exclusive. A data entity in one substitution group may belong to another substitution group.

230 230 230 210 In some embodiments, each of the substitution groupsA,B,C may include a data entity substitution configuration. The data entity substitution configuration may indicate instructions to substitute a first data entity of the substance group associated with a first substance with a second data entity of the substance group associated with a second substance. For example, the data entity substitution configuration may include a preference of data entities (e.g., a ranking of data entity preference). As another example, the data entity substitution configuration may include overrides based on subject attributes (e.g., patient attributes). To illustrate, the data entity substitution configuration may specify an instruction to override a preferred data entity from the substitution group with another data entity when the subject has a particular insurance provider (e.g., because the insurance provider may only reimburse for the substance associated with the other data entity). The data processing systemmay be configured to perform substitutions based on data entity substitution configurations of substitution groups.

210 222 230 230 230 210 210 230 210 210 The data processing systemmay be configured to apply updates to the order templatesA using the substitution groupsA,B,C. When the data processing systemobtains an order template indicating a data entity storing information associated with a substance, the data processing systemmay be configured to identify a substitution group to which the data entity belongs. For example, the data entity may belong to substitution groupA. The data processing systemmay be configured to access a data entity substitution configuration of the identified substitution group and update the order template based on the data entity substitution configuration. For example, the data processing systemmay substitute another data entity in place of the data entity indicated by the order.

2 FIG. 3 FIG.A 7 FIG. 210 212 214 216 As shown in, the data processing systemincludes multiple modules including a data entity relation module, a substitution group definition module, and a substitution module. The operation of each module is described herein with reference to-.

204 224 222 224 206 204 204 204 206 204 204 In some embodiments, the order persistence modulemay be configured to: (1) generate ordersusing the updated order templatesB, and (2) persist the ordersinto the data storage. In some embodiments, the order persistence modulemay be configured to generate an order by reading information from a particular order template and storing it in a data record. For example, the data record may have multiple fields and the order persistence modulemay store data from the particular order template in appropriate fields of the data record. The order persistence modulemay be configured to persist the data record in the data storageas an order. In some embodiments, the order persistence modulemay be configured to store information in an order in addition to information obtained from an applicable order template. For example, the order persistence modulemay automatically populate fields of a data record from other source(s).

204 210 204 210 In some embodiments, the order persistence modulemay be configured to store, in a given order, an indication of modifications made by the data processing systemduring generation of the order. For example, the order persistence modulemay include an indication of a substitution of one substance (e.g., one medication) in place of another substance (e.g., another medication) performed by the data processing system(e.g., by modifying an order template based on which the order was generated). When the order is accessed by a user (e.g., through a GUI), the indications of the modifications may be graphically illustrated. For example, a substituted substance may be crossed out in a GUI displaying information about the order. As another example, an overridden delivery method may be crossed out in a GUI displaying information about an order.

212 212 212 212 3 FIG.A 3 FIG.B In some embodiments, the data entity relation modulemay be configured to identify sets of related data entities that can be used to define substitution groups. Data entities from a particular set of related data entities may be selected to be included in a substitution group (whereas data entities outside of the set may not be included in the substitution group). For example, a set of related data entities may be a set of data entities associated with substances that share a common active ingredient of a reference data entity. As another example, a set of related data entities may be a set of data entities associated with biosimilar substances. In some embodiments, the data entity relation modulemay be configured to identify a set of related data entities by: (1) identifying a reference data entity, (2) identifying other data entities that indicate the same active ingredient and active route as the reference data entity, and (3) identifying the reference data entity along with the other data entities as a set of related data entities. For example, the data entity relation modulemay store a mapping of the reference data entity to the other data entities (e.g., as described herein with reference to). In some embodiments, the data entity relation modulemay be configured to identify a set of related data entities by: (1) obtaining an indication of a set of biosimilar substances, and (2) identifying data entities associated with the biosimilar substances as a set of related data entities (e.g., as described herein with reference to).

3 FIG.A 2 FIG. 3 FIG.A 212 200 212 300 206 200 212 300 300 300 302 300 300 302 212 300 300 300 300 302 300 300 300 300 300 300 shows an example of the data entity relation moduleof the data processing systemofmapping a set of data entities to a reference data entity based on a shared active ingredient of substances associated with the set of data entities and the reference data entity, according to some embodiments of the technology described herein. As illustrated in, the data entity relation modulemay be configured to access a reference data entityfrom the data storageof the data record system. For example, the data entity relation modulemay access the reference data entitybased on user input indicating a substance associated with the reference data entity(e.g., received through a GUI). The reference data entityindicates an active ingredientof a reference substance associated with the reference data entity(e.g., the reference data entityincludes a field storing a value indicating the active ingredient). The data entity relation modulemay be configured to identify other data entitiesA,B,C,D that each indicate the same active ingredientindicated by the reference data entity. Accordingly, the reference data entityand the data entitiesA,B,C,D all share a common active ingredient.

212 304 300 302 300 300 300 300 304 304 300 300 300 300 300 302 304 3 FIG.A In some embodiments, the data entity relation modulemay be configured to identify data entities that also share a substance (e.g., medication) delivery routewith the reference data entityin addition to the active ingredient. In the example of, the data entitiesA,B,C,D indicate the same delivery routeas the reference data entity (e.g., each data entity stores a value in a particular field indicating the delivery route). In such embodiments, the reference data entityand the data entitiesA,B,C,D indicate both the same active ingredientand the same delivery route.

3 FIG.A 4 FIG. 212 300 300 300 300 300 212 206 300 300 300 300 300 212 300 300 300 300 300 212 300 300 300 300 300 310 300 As shown in, in some embodiments, the data entity relation modulemay be configured to store a mapping between the reference data entityand the identified data entitiesA,B,C,D. The data entity relation modulemay be configured to store information (e.g., in data storage) mapping the reference data entityto the data entitiesA,B,C,D. For example, the data entity relation modulemay store, in the reference data entity, references (e.g., pointers or links) to the other data entitiesA,B,C,D. As another example, the data entity relation modulemay store a data record associating the reference data entitywith the data entitiesA,B,C,D. The mappingmay provide a collection (e.g., a bucket) of data entities represented by the reference data entity. The collection of data entities may be used in definition of a substitution group (e.g., as described herein with reference to). Data entities from the collection may be assignable to a substitution group (e.g., to create a substitution group consisting of data entities associated with substances that share a common active ingredient (and optionally a common delivery route)).

212 310 200 302 304 310 212 310 212 300 300 212 310 210 In some embodiments, the data entity relation modulemay be configured to update the mapping. If a new data entity is introduced into the data record systemand the new data entity indicates the active ingredient(and, optionally, the delivery route) indicated by the reference data entity, the data entity relation modulemay add the new data entity to the mapping. For example, the data entity relation modulemay update the information mapping the reference data entityto other data entities to further map the reference data entityto the new data entity. Accordingly, the data entity relation modulemay keep the mappingup to date with new data entities added to the data record system.

3 FIG.B 212 312 212 312 312 312 312 312 312 312 312 shows an example of the data entity relation modulegenerating a collectionof data entities associated with biosimilar substances, according to some embodiments of the technology described herein. In some embodiments, the data entity relation modulemay be configured to generate the biosimilar substance collectionby: (1) obtaining information indicating a set of biosimilar substances (e.g., from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)), (2) identifying data entitiesA,B,C that are associated with the set of biosimilar substances, and (3) generating the biosimilar substance collectionthat includes the identified data entitiesA,B,C.

212 312 312 312 212 206 312 312 312 212 312 312 312 212 312 312 312 312 312 4 FIG. In some embodiments, the data entity relation modulemay be configured to store a mapping between the data entitiesA,B,C. The data entity relation modulemay be configured to store information (e.g., in data storage) mapping the data entitiesA,B,C to each other. For example, the data entity relation modulemay store a biosimilar substance collection data record specifying the collection of data entitiesA,B,C. As another example, the data entity relation modulemay include, in each of the data entitiesA,B,C, a reference to the other data entities in the biosimilar substance collection. The collection of data entitiesmay be used in definition of a substitution group (e.g., as described herein with reference to). Data entities from the collection may be assignable to a substitution group (e.g., to create a substitution group consisting of data entities associated with substances that are biosimilars).

212 312 200 312 212 312 312 212 312 210 In some embodiments, the data entity relation modulemay be configured to update the biosimilar substance collection. If a new data entity is introduced into the data record systemand the new data entity is associated with a substance that is a biosimilar of the substances associated with data entities in the biosimilar substance collection, the data entity relation modulemay add the new data entity to the biosimilar substance collection(e.g., by updating a data record associated with the collection). Accordingly, the data entity relation modulemay keep the mapping biosimilar substance collectionup to date with new data entities added to the data record system.

4 FIG. 2 FIG. 4 FIG. 214 200 214 402 310 312 402 402 402 300 300 214 300 300 300 300 300 402 312 214 312 shows an example of the substitution group definition moduleof the data processing systemofdefining a substitution group, according to some embodiments of the technology described herein. As shown in, the substitution group definition modulemay be configured to provide an indication of related data entities to a user device. For example, the substitution group definition module may provide an indication of the reference data entity mappingor an indication of the biosimilar substance collectionto the user device. In some embodiments, the data entities included in a collection of related data entities (e.g., a biosimilar collection or a collection of a reference data entity with its mapped data entities) may be indicated in a GUI presented in the user device. For example, a user of the devicemay input an identification of the reference data entity(e.g., a name of the substance associated with the reference data entity) for a new substitution group and the substitution group definition modulemay allow the user to add one or more of the data entitiesA,B,C,D mapped to the reference data entityto the substitution group. As another example, a user of the devicemay input an identification of the biosimilar substance collection(e.g., a name of the biosimilar substance collection) for a new substitution group, and the substitution group definition modulemay allow the user to select data entities from the collectionto the substitution group.

4 FIG. 4 FIG. 4 FIG. 214 214 300 300 300 230 300 230 As shown in, the substitution group definition modulemay be configured to receive user input indicating data entities to assign to the substitution group. In the example of, the substitution group definition moduleassigns data entitiesA,B to the substitution group based on the user input. In some embodiments, the reference data entitymay be automatically included in the substitution groupA (as shown in the example of). In some embodiments, the reference data entityneed not be included in the substitution groupA.

4 FIG. 3 FIG.B 214 230 214 312 214 312 214 230 Although in the example ofthe substitution group definition modulegenerates the substitution groupA using a reference data entity mapping, in some embodiments, the substitution group definition modulemay be configured to generate a substitution group using a biosimilar substance collection of data entities (e.g., biosimilar substance collectiondescribed herein with reference to). For example, the substitution group definition modulemay receive user input indicating data entities from the biosimilar substance groupto assign to a substitution group. The substitution group definition modulemay assign data entities to the substitution group based on the user input. For example, substitution groupB may be a substitution group of data entities associated with biosimilar substances.

5 FIG. 5 FIG. 214 500 230 214 502 214 shows an example of the substitution group definition modulegenerating a data entity substitution group configurationfor the substitution groupA, according to some embodiments of the technology described herein. As shown in, the substitution group definition modulemay be configured to receive input from a user device, where the user input indicates substitution configuration information. For example, the substitution group definition modulemay provide a GUI through which the user input is provided. The substitution group configuration information may indicate a data entity substitution preference, one or more data entity overrides, and/or a delivery override.

5 FIG. 500 502 504 506 As shown in, the data entity substitution configurationincludes a data entity substitution preference, data entity overrides, and delivery overrides.

502 502 300 502 502 300 300 300 5 FIG. The data entity substitution preferencemay indicate a preferred data entity. The preferred data entity may be substituted in place of the other data entities when identified in an order template (assuming there are no overrides). In the example of, the data entity substitution preferenceindicate that the data entityB is the preferred data entity. In some embodiments, the data entity substitution preferencemay indicate a ranking of data entities associated with different substances. For example, the data entity substitution preferencemay indicate a ranking of data entityB, followed by data entityA, and followed by the data entity.

504 502 504 504 504 300 502 300 502 5 FIG. In some embodiments, the data entity overridesmay indicate instructions to override a preferred data entity indicated by the data entity substitution preferences. The data entity overridesmay be based on an attribute of a subject (e.g., a patient) associated with an order (e.g., for whom the order is being created). For example, the attribute may be an insurance provider of the subject, a preference indicated by the subject, a diagnosis of the subject, a stage of illness (e.g., a cancer stage) of the subject, or another attribute of the subject. In the example of, the data entity overridesinclude two override instructions. The first instruction indicates that if a subject has an attributeA (e.g., a particular insurance provider), then the data entityA is to override the data entity indicated by the data entity substitution preference. The second instruction indicates that if a subject has an attribute 504° C. (e.g., another insurance provider), then the reference data entityis to override the data entity indicated by the data entity substitution preference.

506 506 300 300 230 300 506 508 508 300 300 506 508 506 230 5 FIG. In some embodiments, the delivery overridesmay indicate instructions to override a delivery method associated with a reference data entity storing information associated with a reference substance. A delivery method may specify one or more parameters for administering a substance. For example, the delivery method may specify a fluid amount, a duration of delivery, and/or instructions for the delivery. In the example of, the delivery overridesinclude an instruction for each of data entitiesA,B in the substitution groupA. For the data entityA, the delivery overridesinclude an instruction to use delivery methodA instead of the delivery method(which may be the delivery method associated with the reference data entity). For the data entityB, the delivery overridesinclude an instruction to use delivery methodB. In other words, the delivery overridesspecify a selection of a delivery method for one or more of the data entities in the substitution groupA. In some embodiments, the selection for each data entity may indicate a delivery method for a reference substance or a different delivery method for a substance associated with the data entity.

216 210 500 230 600 216 6 600 202 600 604 300 600 606 604 604 508 300 2 FIG. 6 6 FIGS.A-B 6 FIG.B In some embodiments, the substitution moduleof the data processing systemofmay be configured to use the data entity substitution configurationto update an order template indicating a data entity belonging to the substitution groupA.illustrate updating of such an order templateperformed by the substitution module. In FIG.A-, an order templateis generated by the order template generation module(e.g., in response to user input received from a user device through a GUI provided by the order template generation module to the user device). The order templateindicates multiple data entities including data entityA and data entityA. The order templatefurther indicates a delivery methodA corresponding to the data entityA (for administering the substance associated with data entityA) and a delivery methodA (for administering the substance associated with the data entityA).

600 600 600 600 600 6 FIG.A It should be appreciated that although the order templateillustrated inindicated only data entities and corresponding delivery methods, the order templatemay indicate other information. For example, the order templatemay indicate an identity of a subject (e.g., a patient) for whom the order templateis generated, an identification of a creator (e.g., a care provider) of the order template, administration information, a date, billing information, a diagnosis of the subject, and/or other information.

6 FIG.A 216 300 600 230 216 300 230 300 300 230 216 300 230 216 300 300 illustrates the substitution moduledetermining that data entityA indicated by the order templatebelongs to the substitution groupA, according to some embodiments of the technology described herein. In some embodiments, the substitution modulemay be configured to determine that the data entityA belongs to the substitution groupA based on information stored in the data entityA. For example, the data entityA may include a field storing a value indicating membership to the substitution groupA. In some embodiments, the substitution modulemay be configured to determine that the data entityA belongs to the substitution groupA using a record of data entity substitution group memberships. For example, the substitution modulemay be configured to maintain a record of substitution groups and use the record to determine that the data entityA belongs to the substitution groupA.

6 FIG.B 6 FIG.B 5 FIG. 600 208 208 500 230 500 300 208 300 300 600 500 300 508 208 508 508 600 illustrates updating of the order templateperformed by the substitution module, according to some embodiments of the technology described herein. As shown in, the substitution modulemay be configured to access the data entity substitution configurationof the substitution groupA. The data entity substitution configurationindicates a preference to use data entityB (as discussed herein with reference to). Accordingly, the substitution modulesubstituted data entityB in place of data entityA in the order template. The data entity substitution configurationfurther includes a delivery override instruction to set the delivery method for data entityB to delivery methodB. Accordingly, the substitution modulesubstitutes the delivery methodB in place of the delivery methodA that was originally in the order template.

6 FIG.A 6 FIG.B 516 218 Although not illustrated in the example ofto, an order template may indicate a data entity for which an applicable data entity substitution configuration specifies an override instruction based on a subject attribute (e.g., an insurance provider of the subject). In such a case, the substitution modulemay be configured to update the order template to substitute the overriding data entity in place of the original data entity (instead of a preferred data entity for the substitution group specified by the data entity substitution configuration). For example, the subject for which the order template is generated may have a particular insurance provider. The substitution modulemay: (1) recognize that the subject has the particular insurance provider, and (2) execute an override instruction associated with an insurance provider attribute indicating the particular insurance provider.

7 FIG. 2 FIG. 6 FIG.B 2 FIG. 700 700 700 210 700 700 700 702 700 600 202 illustrates a processfor automatically substituting information into orders prior to persisting the orders in storage of a data record system, according to some embodiments of the technology described herein. Processmay be performed by any suitable computing device. In some embodiments, processmay be performed by the data processing systemdescribed herein with reference to-. For example, processmay be performed during generation of an order (and prior to persistence of the order in storage). In some embodiments, the system may be configured to perform processautomatically such that undesired information in an order is substituted (e.g., one medication is substituted with another preferred medication). Processbegins at block, where the system performing processobtains an order template (e.g., order template) generated by the data record system (e.g., generated by order template generation moduledescribed herein with reference to). For example, the order template may be generated by: (1) obtaining information from a user device (e.g., input through a GUI), and (2) populating fields in the order template with the information obtained from the user device. The order template may indicate a data entity that is assigned to a substitution group. For example, the order template may be an order template for a medication order to be persisted in an EHR system. The data entity indicated by the order template may be a data entity storing information associated with a substance (e.g., a medication) to be administered to a subject. In some embodiments, the substance may have an active ingredient (and optionally a delivery route) common to all substances that are associated with data entities assigned to the substitution group. In some embodiments, the substance may be one or multiple biosimilar substances with associated data entities that are assigned to the substitution group.

700 704 500 230 5 FIG. Next, processproceeds to block, where the system accesses a data entity substitution configuration (e.g., data entity substitution configurationof substitution groupA described herein with reference to) of the substitution group to which the data entity is assigned. In some embodiments, the system may be configured to: (1) identify the substitution group that the data entity is assigned to (e.g., using information in the data entity and/or an external data record of substitution groups and constituent data entities), and (2) access the data entity substitution configuration of the substitution group. For example, the system may be configured to read the data entity substitution configuration from the data storage of the data record system.

700 706 502 Next, processproceeds to block, where the system modifies the order template based on the data entity substitution configuration to obtain a modified order template. The data entity substitution configuration may include a data entity substitution preference (e.g., data entity substitution preference). The data entity substitution preference may indicate an instruction to substitute a second data entity in place of the data entity. Accordingly, the system may be configured to modify the order template by substituting the original data entity indicated by the order template with the second data entity. In some cases, the data entity substitution configuration may include a data entity override indicating an instruction to override the second data entity specified in the data entity substitution preference with a third data entity. In such cases, the system may modify the order template by substituting the third data entity in place of the original data entity indicated by the order template.

Continuing with the example of a medication order template in an EHR system, the original order template may indicate a first data entity associated with a first medication. The first data entity is assigned to a substitution group of data entities associated with medications that share a common active ingredient or a substitution group of data entities associated with biosimilar medications. In this example, the data entity substitution configuration may include a substitution preference indicating an instruction to substitute the first data entity with a second data entity from the substitution group that is associated with a second medication. Accordingly, the system may substitute the first data entity with the second data entity associated with the second medication. The system may further substitute a delivery method specified for the second data entity in the data entity substitution configuration in place of an original delivery method indicated by the order template.

700 It should be appreciated that, although in the example of processthe order template is modified based on the data entity substitution configuration, it is not necessary that every order template generated by the data record system must be modified. For example, another generated order template may already indicate a preferred data entity specified by a data entity substitution configuration of a substitution group that the other data entity is assigned to. Accordingly, the other order template may not be modified prior to the persistence of an order that incorporates information from the other order template.

506 In some embodiments, the data entity substitution configuration may include a delivery override indicating delivery methods for various data entities in the substitution group (e.g., one of delivery overrides). The system may be configured to modify the order template by modifying which delivery method corresponds to the data entity. The system may be configured to modify the order template such that the delivery method corresponding to the second data entity is the delivery method specified by the delivery override for the second data entity. Accordingly, the modified order template may indicate the second data entity and a corresponding delivery method that was specified by the delivery override.

700 708 702 6 FIG.B Next, processproceeds to block, where the system persists, in storage of the data record system, an order storing information from the modified order template. In some embodiments, the system may be configured to store information from the modified order template by: (1) accessing information from the second data entity indicated by the modified order template, (2) storing the information in a data record (e.g., in one or more fields of the data record), and (3) persisting the data record in the storage of the data processing system as an order. For example, the system may access medication information stored in the second data entity, store the medication information in one or more fields of a data record, and persist the data record in the storage as an order. In some embodiments, the system may be configured to persist an order that specifies a substance associated with the second data entity (that was substituted into the order template) and a corresponding delivery method. For example, the system may persist an order that specifies a medication associated with the second data entity instead of a medication associated with the data entity originally indicated by the order template. In some embodiments, the system may be configured to further persist an order specifying a delivery method associated with the second data entity. For example, the delivery method may be one that was substituted in place of an original delivery method indicated in the order template obtained at block(e.g., as described herein with reference to).

In some embodiments, the system may be configured to update a previously persisted order stored in data storage of a data record system. The system may be configured to: (1) recognize that a particular substance (e.g., a medication) indicated in an order is to be substituted with another substance, (2) automatically modifies the order by substituting the substance indicated by the order, and (3) persists the updated order in data storage. The system may be configured to access a substitution group that the particular substance belongs to (e.g., that a data entity associated with the particular substance is assigned to) and modify the order using a data entity substitution configuration of the substitution group. For example, the system may determine, based on the data entity substitution configuration, that the particular substance is to be substituted with another substance (e.g., based on a data entity substitution preference). The system may access information about the other substance from a data entity associated with the other substance and update the order using the information (e.g., by replacing information in the order with the information from the data entity associated with the other substance).

8 FIG. 8 FIG. 800 800 802 804 800 806 shows a GUIfor generating a new substitution group, according to some embodiments of the technology described herein. The GUIincludes an input that allows a user to select a type of substitution group. The options include an optionfor a substitution group of biosimilar substances and an optionfor a substitution group of substances sharing a common active ingredient and route. In the example of, the user has selected to generate a substitution group of substances that share a common active ingredient and route. The GUIfurther includes a fieldin which the user can specify a reference data entity that can be used to identify other data entities that are assignable to the substitution group (e.g., based on a mapping between the reference data entity and the other data entities).

9 FIG.A 3 FIG.A 3 FIG.B 900 900 902 900 904 902 shows a GUIfor specifying a data entity substitution preference of a data entity substitution configuration of a substitution group, according to some embodiments of the technology described herein. The GUIincludes a fieldin which a user may specify data entities associated with substances to include in the substitution group. For example, the system may allow the user to select from among data entities that are mapped to a reference data entity (e.g., as described herein with reference to-). The GUIfurther includes a fieldthat allows the user to specify a preferred data entity from among the data entities added to the substitution group in field.

9 FIG.B 9 FIG.A 9 FIG.B 9 FIG.B 900 906 906 906 900 908 shows the GUIwith a fieldfor specifying delivery overrides of the data entity substitution configuration of, according to some embodiments of the technology described herein. as shown in, the fieldincludes an override option for each of the data entities in the substitution group. The fieldallows the user to select, for each data entity, whether to use a delivery method associated with a reference data entity of the substitution group or an overriding delivery method specific to the data entity. As shown in, the GUImay include a fieldto specify one or more data entity overrides based on an insurance provider of a subject.

10 FIG. 10 FIG. 1000 1000 1002 shows a GUIfor creating an order template, according to some embodiments of the technology described herein. As shown in, the GUIallows a user to enter various information about an order to be generated based on the order template into various fields. As indicated by the reference label, the system has already substituted a data entity into the order template. Thus, the substituted data entity is the one that the system will draw information from to generate an order from the order template. For example, an order generated from the order template will specify the substance associated with the data entity that was substituted instead of specifying the substance associated with the original data entity that was replaced.

11 FIG. 11 FIG. 1100 1102 1100 1100 shows a GUIdisplaying information about a persisted order, according to some embodiments of the technology described herein. As indicated by the reference label, the GUIindicates that multiple data entities were substituted into the order. The GUIindicates this by crossing out substances associated with the original data entities and showing an arrow pointing to substances associated with data entities that were substituted into an order template from which the order was generated.

12 FIG. 2 FIG. 6 FIG.B 1200 1200 200 210 shows a block diagram of an exemplary computing devicethat may be specially configured to implement some embodiments of the technology described herein. For example, the computing devicemay be configured to implement the data record systemand/or the data processing systemdescribed herein with reference to-.

1200 1202 1204 1204 1202 1204 1206 1202 1204 1202 The computer systemmay include one or more computer hardware processorsand non-transitory computer-readable storage media (e.g., memoryand one or more non-volatile storage). The processor(s)may control writing data to and reading data from (1) the memory; and (2) the non-volatile storage device(s). To perform any of the functionality described herein, the processor(s)may execute one or more processor-executable instructions stored in one or more non-transitory computer-readable storage media (e.g., the memory), which may serve as non-transitory computer-readable storage media storing processor-executable instructions for execution by the processor(s).

The terms “program” or “software” are used herein in a generic sense to refer to any type of computer code or set of processor-executable instructions that can be employed to program a computer or other processor (physical or virtual) to implement various aspects of embodiments as discussed above. Additionally, according to one aspect, one or more computer programs that when executed perform methods of the disclosure provided herein need not reside on a single computer or processor, but may be distributed in a modular fashion among different computers or processors to implement various aspects of the disclosure provided herein.

Processor-executable instructions may be in many forms, such as program modules, executed by one or more computers or other devices. Generally, program modules include routines, programs, objects, components, data structures, etc. that perform tasks or implement abstract data types. Typically, the functionality of the program modules may be combined or distributed.

Various inventive concepts may be embodied as one or more processes, of which examples have been provided. The acts performed as part of each process may be ordered in any suitable way. Thus, embodiments may be constructed in which acts are performed in an order different than illustrated, which may include performing some acts simultaneously, even though shown as sequential acts in illustrative embodiments.

As used herein in the specification and in the claims, the phrase “at least one,” in reference to a list of one or more elements, should be understood to mean at least one element selected from any one or more of the elements in the list of elements, but not necessarily including at least one of each and every element specifically listed within the list of elements and not excluding any combinations of elements in the list of elements. This definition also allows that elements may optionally be present other than the elements specifically identified within the list of elements to which the phrase “at least one” refers, whether related or unrelated to those elements specifically identified. Thus, for example, “at least one of A and B” (or, equivalently, “at least one of A or B,” or, equivalently “at least one of A and/or B”) can refer, in one embodiment, to at least one, optionally including more than one, A, with no B present (and optionally including elements other than B); in another embodiment, to at least one, optionally including more than one, B, with no A present (and optionally including elements other than A); in yet another embodiment, to at least one, optionally including more than one, A, and at least one, optionally including more than one, B (and optionally including other elements); etc.

The phrase “and/or,” as used herein in the specification and in the claims, should be understood to mean “either or both” of the elements so conjoined, i.e., elements that are conjunctively present in some cases and disjunctively present in other cases. Multiple elements listed with “and/or” should be construed in the same fashion, i.e., “one or more” of the elements so conjoined. Other elements may optionally be present other than the elements specifically identified by the “and/or” clause, whether related or unrelated to those elements specifically identified. Thus, as a non-limiting example, a reference to “A and/or B”, when used in conjunction with open-ended language such as “comprising” can refer, in one embodiment, to A only (optionally including elements other than B); in another embodiment, to B only (optionally including elements other than A); in yet another embodiment, to both A and B (optionally including other elements); etc.

Use of ordinal terms such as “first,” “second,” “third,” etc., in the claims to modify a claim element does not by itself connote any priority, precedence, or order of one claim element over another or the temporal order in which acts of a method are performed. Such terms are used merely as labels to distinguish one claim element having a certain name from another element having a same name (but for use of the ordinal term). The phraseology and terminology used herein is for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting. The use of “including,” “comprising,” “having,” “containing,” “involving,” and variations thereof, is meant to encompass the items listed thereafter and additional items.

Having described several embodiments of the techniques described herein in detail, various modifications, and improvements will readily occur to those skilled in the art. Such modifications and improvements are intended to be within the spirit and scope of the disclosure. Accordingly, the foregoing description is by way of example only, and is not intended as limiting. The techniques are limited only as defined by the following claims and the equivalents thereto.